Macaroni & Cheese a la Diana
While 1 box of Barilla elbow pasta is cooking to al dente (5 to 6 min.) do the following.
3 Tablespoons of butter melted in a pan (a healthy margarine also works)
3 Tablespoons of flour into the melted butter
Stir until all the flour is incorporated into the butter as one usually does for a roux.
3 cups organic whole milk – add to the above, using a whisk, tiny bit at a time in the beginning so there are no clumps, until you get a smooth sauce. Keep stirring as you add the rest of the milk and while you cook the mixture over medium high heat to get it going to a simmer, then lower the heat to slow simmer to cook till completely thickened.
½ pound to 1 pound of American deli cheese, Dietz & Watson or Land O Lakes. Now is when Cheese is incorporated 3 slices at a time to the roux. Just keep tasting on a separate clean spoon till it’s cheesy enough for your taste and keep stirring.
Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of dry mustard.
Dash or two of soy sauce (to taste) – instead of salt!
Dash of Worstershire sauce
Dash or two of white pepper
Tiny pinch of sugar
Taste and adjust as needed. Shut off heat. Drain pasta & put pasta back into the pot it was cooked in. Stir in the cheese sauce and let sit while you prepare crumb topping.
(save a cup of the pasta water to thin if sauce if needed after it stands in the pot while you make the crumb topping).
Crumb topping:
1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large pan
1 small clove garlic minced or from garlic press
1 Tablespoon or more if you like of fresh chopped Italian parsley
Handful of unseasoned Panko bread crumbs. (comes out to ½ a cup or so)
Heat olive oil gently. Add the garlic over low heat so it cooks very gently – but does not brown - and imparts it’s flavor to the oil. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Add the parsley and the Panko and stir till coated with the oil mix.
In a 13 x 9 casserole pan that has been greased or sprayed with Pam, pour the mac & cheese combo. Smooth down the top and then sprinkle with ¾ of the crumbs. Now use a layer (amount to taste) of Sharp Cheddar cheese either shredded or sliced to top the bread crumbs and then evenly put on remaining crumb topping. I used sliced Tillamook sharp cheddar and just covered most of the top with 4 whole slices and one more broken to fill in empty spaces.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 min. – you will see bubbling around edges. Then broil to brown the crumb topping – keeping a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn!
This is seriously the best mac & cheese I've ever had. Try it. It's worth the labor! You'll be hooked!
Oh. Diana supplied not only the Mac & Cheese, but also a lovely wine crate that I had big plans for. The kitties have taken it over, however, so I must be content to have a rather bohemian kitty bed in the window.
The cats also like the Mac & Cheese.
